Early this morning at least one armed individual crept onto on a rural cannabis farm 7 miles north of Laytonville west of Highway 101 and stole non-processed cannabis. According to an unnamed resident of the area, this is the fourth robbery of the season with a similar modus operandi in which they use “drones to scope gardens, and stealthily coming in on foot to take what they can carry.”
The resident told us that locals believe a group of 2-3 individuals has been in the area since July surveilling cannabis farms using drones and sleeping overnight in multiple camp spots. “They strike when no one is around”, the resident told us.
The resident said the thieves “fill bags as full as they can carry (about 30 lbs wet weight each) and they hike out.” The resident presumes the robbers are hiking out the stolen marijuana to Highway101 where a vehicle is picking them up.
The resident actually “tracked” these robbers across their property in July where they spent the night “en route to their next ripoff.” Evidence of their presence included empty water and soda bottles, empty boxes of .223 ammunition, toilet paper, and human feces.
Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office Captain Greg Van Patton told us the agency has not been informed of these occurrences. Previous statements from MCSO encourage cannabis growers, legal or illegal, to contact law enforcement if they are victims of theft or any other crimes.
